New Bowling Green State University data released in July 2026 shows the divorce rate for Americans 65 and older tripled between 1990 and 2021, nearly quadrupling for women in that age band, even as rates fell for those under 45. For Florida — home to the nation's largest 65-plus population — this reshapes how retirement assets, alimony, and Social Security divide under Fla. Stat. § 61.075.
| Key Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| What happened | BGSU National Center for Family and Marriage Research published analysis of 1990-2021 divorce data |
| When | Data brief released July 2026 (covering 1990-2021) |
| Where | National data; acute impact in Florida, Arizona, California |
| Who's affected | Americans 45+, especially the 65-and-older cohort |
| Key finding | 65+ divorce rate tripled; nearly quadrupled among women 65+ |
| Impact | Growing demand for retirement-asset division, alimony, QDRO planning |
The analysis, reported by the Baltimore Sun via the Sinclair National Desk and coauthored by sociologist I-Fen Lin, confirms a decades-long divergence: younger Americans are divorcing less, while older Americans — the "gray divorce" cohort — are divorcing at record rates.
Why this matters legally
Gray divorce fundamentally changes the financial math of divorce, because older couples divide accumulated retirement wealth rather than future earning capacity. A 65-year-old divorcing after 40 years of marriage confronts a different legal reality than a 30-year-old: pensions, 401(k) accounts, Social Security spousal benefits, and a paid-off marital home become the central battleground. Florida is disproportionately affected because roughly 21 percent of its residents are 65 or older — the highest share of any US state. When the 65-plus divorce rate triples nationally, Florida absorbs an outsized volume of these complex, asset-heavy dissolutions. The legal stakes rise sharply: dividing a 30-year pension incorrectly can cost a spouse six figures in retirement security.
How Florida law handles this
Florida is an equitable distribution state, and under Fla. Stat. § 61.075 marital assets are divided fairly — which begins with a presumption of a roughly equal 50/50 split unless factors justify otherwise. For gray divorce, three provisions dominate.
Retirement accounts accumulated during the marriage are marital property subject to division. A 401(k), pension, or IRA earned across a long marriage is split via a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO), a court order that lets a plan divide benefits without triggering early-withdrawal taxes or the 10 percent penalty under IRC § 72(t). Getting the QDRO language right is essential; a defective order can forfeit an entire share.
Alimony is often decisive in gray divorce because one spouse frequently left the workforce decades earlier. Florida overhauled its alimony statute effective July 1, 2023, eliminating permanent alimony and replacing it under Fla. Stat. § 61.08 with durational alimony capped by marriage length. For a marriage of 20 years or more — the typical gray-divorce scenario — durational alimony generally cannot exceed 75 percent of the marriage's length. A 40-year marriage could therefore support durational alimony up to roughly 30 years, though courts weigh need and ability to pay.
Social Security adds a federal layer Florida courts do not divide but spouses must understand: a marriage lasting 10 years or longer entitles a lower-earning ex-spouse to claim up to 50 percent of the higher earner's benefit without reducing the higher earner's payment. Because most gray divorces follow long marriages, this 10-year threshold is almost always met.
Practical takeaways
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Inventory every retirement account before filing. Locate statements for each 401(k), pension, IRA, and annuity, and identify what portion accrued during the marriage versus before it. Only the marital portion is divisible under Fla. Stat. § 61.075.
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Insist on a properly drafted QDRO for any pension or employer plan. Confirm the QDRO is drafted, approved by the plan administrator, and entered by the court — not just referenced in the settlement. An unexecuted QDRO leaves your share unenforceable.
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Calculate durational alimony under the post-2023 rules. If your marriage exceeded 20 years, model the 75-percent cap under Fla. Stat. § 61.08 so your expectations match current Florida law, not the repealed permanent-alimony regime.
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Verify your Social Security eligibility window. If the marriage lasted at least 10 years, you likely qualify for spousal or survivor benefits on your ex's record. Confirm timing before finalizing, because remarriage before age 60 can forfeit survivor benefits.
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Reassess estate documents and beneficiary designations. Update your will, health-care surrogate, and beneficiary forms on life insurance and retirement accounts. Florida law revokes some ex-spouse designations automatically, but never all — verify each one.
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Model your post-divorce budget on a single income. Two households cost more than one, and a fixed retirement income rarely stretches to cover both. Use a post-divorce budget calculator before agreeing to any settlement.
Gray divorce is rising fastest among the very people with the most complex finances and the least time to recover from a mistake. If you are 50 or older and considering divorce in Florida, the retirement-asset and alimony questions deserve careful attention before you file. A qualified Florida family law attorney can help you protect the security you spent decades building.
This article discusses recent news and provides general legal commentary. It does not constitute legal advice. Every case is unique. Consult a qualified family law attorney for advice specific to your situation.